Channel Zero (TV series)
| director = | starring = | composer = Jeff Russo | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 4 | num_episodes = 24 | list_episodes = #Episodes | executive_producer = | producer = | location = Manitoba, Canada | cinematography = | editor = | camera = Single-camera | runtime = 41–44 minutes | company = | distributor = NBCUniversal Television Distribution | picture_format = | audio_format = | first_aired = | last_aired = | alt = | channel = Syfy }} Channel Zero is an American horror anthology television series created by Nick Antosca, who serves as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. The series was greenlit for two 6-episode, self-contained seasons, slated to air in the fall of 2016 and the fall of 2017 on Syfy. The storylines for the series are based on popular creepypastas. On February 9, 2017, Syfy renewed the series for a third and fourth season. The first announced installment, based on Kris Straub's Candle Cove, stars Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw and was directed by Craig William Macneill. It centers on Kris Straub's story of one man's obsessive recollection of a mysterious children's television program from the 1980s. The series premiered on October 11, 2016. Channel Zero's second season is based on Brian Russell's The No-End House and directed by Steven Piet. The season premiered on September 20, 2017. Channel Zero's third season Butchers Block is based on Kerry Hammond's "Search and Rescue Woods" and was directed by Arkasha Stevenson. The season premiered on February 7, 2018. Channel Zero's fourth season The Dream Door is based on Charlotte Bywater's "Hidden Door" and directed by E. L. Katz. The season premiered for six consecutive days beginning October 26, 2018 at 11/10c with the finale airing on Halloween. On January 16, 2019, Syfy cancelled Channel Zero after four seasons, although the door was left open to produce more seasons in the future. Series Overview | end1 = | color2 = #20306E | auxA2 = No-End House | episodes2 = 6 | start2 = | end2 = | color3 = #9BA99C | auxA3 = Butcher’s Block | episodes3 = 6 | start3 = | end3 = | color4 = #00CCCC | auxA4 =''The Dream Door'' | episodes4 = 6 | start4 = | end4 = }} Plot Season 1: Candle Cove A child psychologist returns to his hometown to determine if his brother's disappearance is somehow connected to a series of similar incidents and a bizarre children's television series that aired at the same time. Season 2: No-End House A young woman and her group of friends visit a bizarre house of horrors only to find themselves questioning whether it is a tourist attraction or something more sinister. Season 3: Butcher's Block A young woman and her schizophrenic sister move to a city haunted by a series of bizarre disappearances and, after suspecting that they may be connected to a baffling rumor, they must work together to discover what is preying on the city's residents. Season 4: The Dream Door Newlyweds Jillian and Tom have each brought secrets into their marriage. When they discover a bizarre door in their basement, those secrets start to threaten their relationship—and their lives. Cast and characters * * * * Episodes Season 1: Candle Cove (2016) |Viewers = 0.76 |ShortSummary = Child psychologist Mike Painter returns to his home town of Iron Hill, Ohio nearly thirty years after an unknown serial killer murdered five local children, among them his twin brother, Eddie. Eddie's body was never found. His mother, Marla, is the only family member remaining in the area. Painter reconnects with friends Jessica and Gary (who is now the town's sheriff), and meets their daughter, Katie. Over dinner, Mike mentions Candle Cove, a disturbing children's television series involving puppet pirates that they watched around the time of the murders, until it mysteriously went off the air. Katie tells Mike that she has seen the show recently. The next day Katie goes missing and Mike is under suspicion. Through Katie's brother, Dane, Mike realizes where he can find Katie. Mike follows a figure dressed as a skeleton who resembles one of the characters from the show. He discovers Katie alive in the woods where the murders took place. He carries Katie back to her family, unaware that she has left two of her teeth behind to be claimed by an eerie creature, whose skin is entirely made up of teeth. Marla tells Mike that when he and his brother were watching Candle Cove as children, they were actually watching static on the television. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} |Viewers = 0.63 |ShortSummary = Gary and Jessica are awoken by their son's screams after Katie stabs him with a hook. Although Gary doesn't completely trust Mike, he allows him to talk to Katie at the hospital alone in order to discover what happened. Meanwhile, Marla visits a television station to ask about Candle Cove. The technician remembers the program and shows Marla a fan-made recreation. But he tells her that no tapes of the original show exist, as it was impossible to record. Mike finds more links to the Candle Cove imagery in Katie's drawing and uses it as a clue to visit an abandoned cement factory with his mother. Mike follows a mysterious figure into the factory alone and discovers the decomposed remains of his brother, Eddie. That night, Mike confesses to Marla that he killed Eddie as a child and buried his body, but that the corpse had been moved before the police dug up the grave site. Upset, Marla stabs Mike in the arm. The next day Gary comes to the house and asks Mike to come with him to the police station for questioning. However, along the way Mike realizes that Gary is taking him somewhere else. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} |Viewers = 0.55 |ShortSummary = Gary takes Mike to an empty house he had wanted to buy and handcuffs him in a chair. Tim and Daphne arrive at the house where they all interrogate Mike about the murders of their family members, believing him responsible. Flashbacks reveal that Candle Cove inspired Eddie to kill Tim's bully brother, Gene, using psychic mind-control to make him walk off the edge of a cliff. Eddie continued vengefully killing other children in a similar way before Mike stopped him by stabbing him with a hook. In present day, the others doubt Mike's story and Tim shoots him in the shoulder in a struggle for the truth. Marla, Jessica, and deputy Amy arrive at the house as Tim and Daphne run away. Seeing Mike's condition, Amy takes Gary into custody. Later, Daphne visits Mrs. Booth, her former teacher, who also lost a son in the murders. After explaining what happened with Mike at the house, Booth murders Daphne with an ice hook and returns to host a group of children watching Candle Cove on her television. It is revealed that the kids killed Tim when he was walking home as Booth buries the body. Mike's daughter, Lily, inexplicably arrives alone at Marla's house, even though she lives miles away. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} |Viewers = 0.47 |ShortSummary = Lily reveals herself to be a manifestation of Eddie and promises to send Mike "where he belongs". Fulfilling Eddie's wish, Mike breaks into the morgue with the help of Jessica and burns Eddie's skeletal remains. Jessica and Mike are shown to have been childhood sweethearts when they were young. Acting Sheriff Amy investigates the strange behavior of some kids and after a confusing encounter with Mrs. Booth at school, she finds the children playing pirate in the gymnasium. Acting on a hunch, she searches Booth's home and finds Candle Cove props in her basement, eventually coming across Daphne's body. Meanwhile, Jessica returns home to discover several children masked in Candle Cove costumes who suddenly start stabbing her. She collapses, bleeding as Booth stands in the background. Lily regains consciousness as herself. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} |Viewers = 0.44 |ShortSummary = Mike discovers an extra tooth breaking through his gum, a trait that only Eddie had as a child. Amy tells Mike about Jessica's murder and she agrees to let Gary out of custody to help him search Mrs. Booth's property. Gary discovers some teeth left on a fence post outside and Mike realizes that the Candle Cove props were fake. He receives a phone call from Booth, who instructs him to meet her alone at an abandoned diner. He goes there and witnesses Booth in the skeleton costume, controlling children into helping her commit murder. Later, she goes to Marla's house and she tells Mike and Marla how Eddie used his powers to control her seizures. It was also Eddie who created Candle Cove, not her. Booth killed her own son as a sacrifice for Eddie, in order to increase his power, and welcomes Eddie's return through Mike. That night at a motel, the tooth creature lures Lily away. As Mike attempts to extract his extra tooth, Candle Cove begins playing on the television, featuring a frightened Lily. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} |Viewers = 0.42 |ShortSummary = Amy and Gary search for the children suspects and Gary is able to reclaim his own children from Candle Cove's control. Mike's wife, Erica, demands to know where Lily is, but he insists that he is the only one who can save her. He takes Erica to the site of the murders and loses consciousness, entering Eddie's parallel world, which is filled with strange rooms and monsters. When he finally comes face to face with his brother, Eddie allows Lily to leave if Mike will stay forever. Lily returns to reality by crawling through a TV and is greeted by her mother. Marla goes to the woods where she is attacked by Mrs. Booth. Marla is rescued at the last minute by Amy, who shoots Booth before Marla finally stabs her skull with the hook. Mike convinces Eddie to stay for one more card game they played as kids, delaying him long enough for Marla to return to the woods and suffocate Mike's body before Eddie can possess it. Unable to break free of his world, Eddie is forced to remain with Mike. |LineColor = F5F5F5 }} }} Season 2: No-End House (2017) |Viewers = 0.39 |ShortSummary = When four friends enter the house, they learn that it is more than a haunted mansion. Confronted with strangely personal horrors in each room, they must try to find an escape. |LineColor = 20306E }} |Viewers = 0.38 |ShortSummary = Margot tells Jules that she doesn't need her around and to leave her with the Father. Jules finds Seth where the no end house should be, but it's disappeared. She tells him that Margot has decided to stay with The Father and they stick together for comfort. J.T. goes to what he thinks is his home and sees a girl through the front window, where he then sees a version of himself with her. When he goes inside, his alternate version tells him that he's a better version of J.T. and he proceeds to kiss the girl. When J.T. protests saying he should be the one kissing the girl, the alternate J.T. attacks him with a liquor bottle and beats him multiple times over the head. Dylan is on a secret mission to find his wife, who was previously caught in a different version of the no end house, but she doesn't recognize him. The Father has memories of his wife when he touches Margot and this causes the wife's body to manifest in the garage, where he proceeds to tear the body apart and eat it. |LineColor = 20306E }} |Viewers = 0.41 |ShortSummary = The Father becomes erratic and Margot fears for her life. She is able to flee The Father with the help of Jules, Seth and J.T. Meanwhile, Dylan attempts to deprogram Lacey and Jules falls deeper under the spell of a sinister influence. |LineColor = 20306E }} |Viewers = 0.48 |ShortSummary = The group must face the most dangerous part of House World as they search for the exit. With the Father in pursuit and shocking discoveries about each other, tensions within the group simmer. |LineColor = 20306E }} |Viewers = 0.41 |ShortSummary = Margot, Jules, and Seth face new horror as The Father wreaks havoc in the real world. |LineColor = 20306E }} |Viewers = 0.37 |ShortSummary = Jules goes back inside the No-End House to rescue Margot, and together, they must finally deal with Seth and The Father to escape before it's too late. |LineColor = 20306E }} }} Season 3: Butcher’s Block (2018) |Viewers = 0.38 |ShortSummary = Alice and her sister Zoe move to a new city and discover a mystery involving mysterious staircases. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} |Viewers = 0.33 |ShortSummary = Alice gets a sinister invitation from the Peach family, while Zoe begins to behave bizarrely. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} |Viewers = 0.28 |ShortSummary = Alice has a terrifying encounter in an abandoned hospital. Luke, Louise, and Nathan play cat-and-mouse with Robert Peach. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} |Viewers = 0.25 |ShortSummary = Alice confronts her own incipient madness while Zoe eats with the Peaches. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} |Viewers = 0.27 |ShortSummary = Zoe discovers there's something else living in the summer house; Alice reaches the point of no return. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} |Viewers = 0.34 |ShortSummary = Zoe and Alice confront the Peach family. |LineColor = 9BA99C }} }} Season 4: The Dream Door (2018) |Viewers = 0.32 |ShortSummary = An unsettling discovery prompts Jillian and Tom to suspect their home is haunted by past secrets. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} |Viewers = 0.32 |ShortSummary = After witnessing a murder, Jillian digs into secrets from her past; Tom realizes he's in danger. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} |Viewers = 0.27 |ShortSummary = A terrified Jillian and Tom reveal their secrets and try to overcome the devastating consequences. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} |DirectedBy = E. L. Katz |OriginalAirDate = |Viewers = 0.17 |ShortSummary = As Jillian's old friend relentlessly hunts Tom, she teams up with a neighbor to try and save him. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} |Viewers = 0.26 |ShortSummary = Ian makes a grand gesture that threatens to drive Jillian and Tom apart forever. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} |DirectedBy = E. L. Katz |OriginalAirDate = |Viewers = 0.24 |ShortSummary = Jillian and Tom set out to defeat the demons in their marriage once and for all. |LineColor = 00CCCC }} }} Production In 2015, Syfy announced that they had greenlit Channel Zero for twelve episodes, which would air as two six episode seasons. The first season would center upon the popular creepypasta Candle Cove. The second season would focus on a new story, based on the creepypasta The No-End House. Universal Cable Production would serve as the production company for the series, with Max Landis and Nick Antosca both serving as the series' executive producers. Craig William Macneill was chosen to direct the first season of Channel Zero in February 2016. Paul Schneider and Fiona Shaw were confirmed as starring in Channel Zero's first season in June 2016. Schneider is set to portray Mike Painter, a child psychologist whose twin brother went missing years before and whose mother, portrayed by Shaw, is reluctant to indulge his desire to investigate. Natalie Brown and Shaun Benson were also named as starring in the series. Filming began in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada during May 2016 and wrapped on July 28, after 46 days of shooting. Filming for Season 2 was set to start September 13, 2016 in Oakbank, Manitoba. An advance screening of the first episode premiered at San Diego Comic-Con. Creator Nick Antosca revealed on Twitter that season 2 would premiere on September 20, 2017. Filming for Season 3 took place from July to August 30, 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Filming for Season 4 began in early May 2018 and wrapped that July. Music score In season 2, "Bathysphere" by Cat Power plays at the end of the first episode. "Concrete Walls" from Fever Ray's eponymous album plays during the end of the third episode and "Between the Bars" from Madeleine Peyroux's Careless Love plays at the start of the sixth episode. In season 3, portions of "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass play during the fifth and sixth episodes. Some of the Kyrie from György Ligeti's Requiem is also heard during the sixth episode. Selections from The Caretaker's An Empty Bliss Beyond This World also recur as motifs throughout all six episodes of the season. Broadcast Showcase broadcasts each season in Canada after Syfy has finished airing it within the United States. http://www.showcase.ca/channelzero The horror streaming service Shudder is streaming all four seasons of the series as of October 10th, 2019. https://www.shudder.com/series/watch/channel-zero/4269663?season=1 Reception The first season of Channel Zero received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 86% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 6.83/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Creepy, unsettling, and refreshingly unique, Channel Zero: Candle Cove draws on easily relatable childhood fears while peeling back layers of spine-tingling mystery." On Metacritic it has a rating of 75 out of 100 based on 5 reviews. The second season received highly favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 100% based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "No End House's central mystery is stronger and scarier than Channel Zero's first, solidifying its status as one of TV's scariest horror offerings." The third season on Rotten Tomatoes has an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10, indicating "no consensus yet". Season four on Rotten Tomatoes has an approval rating of 88% based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. Ratings Season 1: Candle Cove (2016) | title2 = I'll Hold Your Hand | date2 = October 18, 2016 | rs2 = 0.2 | viewers2 = 0.63 | dvr2 = 0.2 | total2 = 0.4 | title3 = Want to See Something Cool? | date3 = October 25, 2016 | rs3 = 0.2 | viewers3 = 0.55 | dvr3 = 0.2 | total3 = 0.4 | title4 = A Strange Vessel | date4 = November 1, 2016 | rs4 = 0.2 | viewers4 = 0.47 | dvr4 = n/a | total4 = n/a | title5 = Guest of Honor | date5 = November 8, 2016 | rs5 = 0.1 | viewers5 = 0.44 | dvr5 = n/a | total5 = n/a | title6 = Welcome Home | date6 = November 15, 2016 | rs6 = 0.1 | viewers6 = 0.42 | dvr6 = 0.2 | total6 = 0.3 }} Season 2: No-End House (2017) Season 3: Butcher’s Block (2018) Awards and nominations References External links * * Category:2016 American television series debuts Category:2018 American television series endings Category:2010s American horror television series Category:Adaptations of works by Kris Straub Category:2010s American anthology television series Category:Filicide in fiction Category:Fratricide in fiction Category:Fiction about mind control Category:Television series about parallel universes Category:Syfy original programs Category:Television programs based on short fiction Category:Television series about fictional serial killers Category:Television series about missing people Category:Television series about television Category:Television series based on Internet-based works Category:Television series by Universal Television Category:Television series produced in Manitoba Category:Television shows set in Ohio Category:Works about psychology Category:Works by Max Landis